Fancy Fencing for Feathered Friends

The 18″ high fencing we’d been using to keep our 4 chickens in their designated 300 square foot area had been falling short for quite some time.  The Silkies had figured out how to squeeze through and Henrietta could just give a little hop and just roam free all through the yard, which is not a good thing.  I decided I’d had enough of chasing chickens around the yard when I came home from the store, so I did a little research and found this blog post from Sunny Simple Life and knew it was just what I had in mind.  Something nice looking, blends well with the garden and is functional.

Before (morning dirt bath under the Double Delight Nectarine):

After:

I purchased it at Lowe’s and it took about 2 hours to install with metal posts that hammer into the ground.  The fencing slides onto the posts and then links together to the panel next to it.  In order to still have access into their space, we left one panel un-linked, sawed off the metal post at the bottom of the panel to prevent drag and then turned around the next panel and continued along.

I love the leaf design.  Now I know the chickens aren’t causing mischief in the rest of the yard, which makes me an even happier chicken owner.

And a couple fun veggies:

White heirloom cuke

My first butternut squash!

Chickens & Cherry Blossoms

Somehow the chickens seem to know when I need a new picture of them doing something endearing because yesterday they were posing like pro’s.  These birds of a feather really do love to flock together.  Last week every one of my white Silkies were broody and our sweet Ameraucana Henrietta didn’t leave the coop, not even for a minute, to venture by her lonesome out in the grass which she loves so much.  Now that they’re back to their pecking, egg laying-gang status, they don’t leave each other’s sides.

The Minnie Royal Cherry tree has begun to bloom!  It’s pollinator sister, Royal Lee, is not quite blooming yet, but I’m hoping they’ll cross blooming schedules at some point to possibly produce some of my first cherries this spring.

Eva’s Pride baby peaches have appeared!

Sharpblue blueberries are on their way as well.

THE END!

Egg Heaven

Rarely are all 4 hens laying at the same time in the winter, but this week each hen has been laying everyday.  This is what I have found each morning for the past three days.  

Chicken Salad

Our hens seem to be little charming magnets whenever family, friends or neighbors come over to visit.  Questions abound about their eggs, whether they’re friendly and how we came to keep chickens.  I’m always happy to share our story and tout how sweet and funny they are.  I think we have about 5-7 kids in our neighborhood dreaming about having their own chickens.

My husband and his sister enjoying some feathered friends.

My daughter and I love feeding them yummy snacks.  Some of their most coveted treats from the kitchen include old bananas, apple cores, melon rinds, soft tomatoes, lettuce and carrot tops.  My daughter likes to help in the kitchen and she used her culinary know-how to concoct a tongue-in-cheek chicken salad.

Here we have fresh watermelon rinds with some crisp carrot tops. Isn’t it funny how food competition shows can describe a dish so eloquently?

Our Silkies often get compared to bunnies, and although their noses don’t wiggle, they do hop from time to time, usually to reach a flower or leaf just out of reach.  Otherwise, they have almost no vertical ability.  They are soft like a rabbit and don’t mind being held for some time, as long as their wings are held securely.  Their feathers don’t have the typical barbs, which gives them a fluffy look and a super soft touch.

We love our girls!

Our grass has never been greener. We have not fertilized with traditional bagged grass fertilizer since our hens came to our home. Now we have a more natural and effective fertilizer. Thanks, chickens!

Budding up for Spring

Fruit trees are fantastic planners.  Just as we humans start hunkering down in our winter-y way of life (turning on the heater, spending more time indoors, eating a little more), my fruit trees are also losing their leaves and looking their most bleak.  But under that stripped-down exterior something fascinating is already taking place.  The promise of spring, even when winter has just started, in the form of swelling buds.

Royal Lee Cherry

This being only my second soon-to-be spring with my 2 cherry trees, I’m realizing that their buds may have a head start on my other fruit trees, probably because they are the first to blossom and fruit.

Eva’s Pride Peach

And of course I have some other winter veggies here and there, such as carrots, lettuce and sugar snap peas.

These two seem to be relying on each other for mutual support.

One of my flower pots with some extra room is now more beautiful for winter thanks to these lettuce.

Here is a tally of my mini orchard to date:

• Red Baron Peach-the matriarch of the backyard having been planted about 6 years ago
• Minnie Royal Cherry
• Royal Lee Cherry-these two require each other for pollination
• Snow Queen White Nectarine
• Gold Kist Apricot
• Burgundy Plum
• Thompson Red Flame Grape
• Eva’s Pride Peach

This coming spring is one of my most anticipated yet because I think that maybe, just maybe some of my two year old trees (Eva’s Pride Peach, Thompson Red Flame Grape, Burgundy Plum, Snow Queen White Nectarine) will fruit for the first time.  And that would be the most bountiful with fruit my backyard will have ever been.

PS: My sweet Silkies started laying again after a two month hiatus about a week ago on my birthday.  Thankful!

Indigo Rose

It seemed as though the famed “Indigo Rose” tomato that I purchased as a grafted tomato a few months back took abnormally long to ripen.  Today they felt slightly soft to the touch so I picked a handful.  These were developed by Oregon State University recently and are supposed to have extra high levels of antioxidants.

They’re almost bite-size with a reddish underside. Very mild and sweet.

A neighbor of mine plants tomato starts in September for a fall harvest, which really struck me.  She said that she has great luck since the California heat keeps going strong through October.  I’m taking a stab at it this year!  One of my Spring/Summer heirloom tomatoes was spent, so I used it’s grow pot for my new tomato plant I grew from seed in early July.

Snack time!

A neighbor across the street just brought home 3 or 4 silkies of different colors and three other neighbors asked me about keeping chickens at our latest block party.  Word’s gotten around that we’ve got our own flock and I’m hoping that my love of our hens will encourage others to consider taking the feathery plunge.

Unlikely Friends

I’ve known for a while now that we have a new (ah-hem) resident in and out of our yard but today was a first.  Our hens and the squirrel seemed to be getting along and were munching alongside each other on the grass for a few minutes.  They were almost hanging out like old friends, neither one too concerned about the other.

And while there are a few holes under our fence now and a couple cherry tomatoes missing, I really haven’t had too much of a problem with the fuzzy guy (or gal).  My large red tomatoes and peaches have been left untouched.  I’m hoping that we may be able to peaceably co-exist ( you can always hope, right?) without having to take drastic measures.

Sunday Family Dinner Harvest

On the menu tonight is a summery salade nicoise for some family coming over for dinner.  Growing up my grandmother loved making this salad in the summer.  She always added capers to the typical ingredients of green beans, boiled potatoes and eggs, tuna, tomatoes olives and artichoke hearts.  Tonight I’ll also be adding basil and a side of grilled peaches with a honey butter glaze.

Mohawk Chicken

It’s been a hair-raising morning with extremely rare San Diego summer rain.  Our Silkies appreciate a nice rainy day, particularly because it gives them a chic hairstyle (note the dyed tips), but also because it allows them to see better!

It’s hard not to smile at these silly hens as they cruise the yard and visit the back door to see if any scraps will get tossed their way.  Yesterday our Ameraucana, Henrietta (seen above in the background), walked through the open back door and was caught hanging out in the dining room!

Lady-Like Carrot

My kiddo has been itching to pull a carrot.  Although I explained that they’re not quite ready, we picked one anyhow.  After seeing it’s size, I was told emphatically, “They’re not ready yet!”.  This little carrot may have been small, but it was as lady-like as they come.

The pink mandevilla next to the chicken coop is in full swing.  What a show-stopper this one is.  I particularly appreciate it in it’s current location because it’s adds a softness and brightness to the coop area and surrounding dirty digs.

The Red Baron peach tree has moved into it’s hunched over look with the swelling weight of the many peaches.  A week or so more and I’ll be having peaches in my oatmeal, peach crisp, grilled peaches, peaches on my ice cream and peaches for a snack.  Lucky me.